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Cerberus
Cerberus (ケルベロス, Keruberosu) is a fictional character in Clamp's manga and anime series Cardcaptor Sakura. His name is more commonly known in its romanized version, Kerberos, which is also often shortened to Kero-chan. He is voiced in his more common "hidden" form by Aya Hisakawa and Masaya Onosaka in his "true" form. In the English adaptation Cardcaptors, he is known as Keroberos or Kero. He is voiced in the series by Matt Hill (borrowed form) and Richard Newman (true form), and in the second movie by Wendee Lee (borrowed form) and Dave Wittenberg (true form). Kero also appears in the anime adaptation of Clamp's latest manga Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle. Creation and conception Name Cerberus's name and form are based on Cerberus from Greek mythology, a large three-headed beast who was assigned to guard the gates of Hades, a parallel to Cerberus’s duty in the Cardcaptor Sakura storyline where he guarded a deck of cards form the cover of the book that contained them. Kero's name in Japanese is pronounced as "keh-ro". In Cardcaptors, his name is pronounced as "kee-ro" (such that it rhymes with zero). The older TOKYOPOP releases of the manga render his name as "Keroberos," but this was changed in later printings to "Cerberus." Nickname Because the heroine of the series, Sakura, feels that he does not resemble a "Cerberus," she calls the guardian "Kero-chan." He initially rejects the name (Kero is also the Japanese onomatopoeia for the sound a frog makes, a comparison he resents), but soon comes to embrace it once he gets to know Sakura. Role Cerberus is the guardian of the mystical yet dangerous book of Clow cards. He is the guardian of the sun, one of the two duty bound to protect the powerful cards, and opposite of the lunar guardian, Yue. For several decades he was locked away in the book of the Clow, which held the cards upon the death of their previous master, Clow Reed, until a new master appeared to take hold of the cards and their guardians. Cerberus’s character first appears at the beginning of the series when this new master, Sakura Kinomoto, releases him from the book. Once Cerberus is awakened (he was napping on the front cover) and released from the book he discovers the Clow cards have vanished, and appoints Sakura the title of Cardcaptor, and sends her off to retrieve the cards. Cerberus’s major role in the first half of the story is to select the candidate to take up his old master’s footsteps and inherit the Clow Cards, and to aid the candidate in their task of collecting the now awakened cards. Once all of the cards are captured and the Cardcaptor’s name is written upon them, Cerberus’s chosen candidate is then judged on their worthiness to own the cards by the other guardian, Yue. In the second story arc, Cerberus’s major role is to help and protect Sakura as she faces numerous challenges set upon her by another sorcerer, Eriol Hiiragizawa, in order to force Sakura to transform the Clow cards under her own power. In the final confrontation with Eriol at Tokyo tower, Cerberus helps Sakura to transform the Light and Dark cards by transferring his power into her staff. Character Pastimes By nature, Cerberus is bossy, demanding, and gluttonous, but he also genuinely cares about Sakura and believes that she will become the next Master of the Clow as he acts as her guide to gather the Cards. His hobbies include playing video games (which he takes up when he finds the console in Sakura's room and develops great skill) and eating snacks and sweets, even though, drawing his power from the sun, he generates his own energy, and does not need to eat to survive. He has a particular fondness for cake, cookies, and chocolates, and in the anime he is shown to be affected by alcohol (at one point becoming completely intoxicated after eating an entire box of chocolate liqueurs with no previous knowledge of their properties). Despite his fondness for sweets and other food items, he is not above sharing , provided there is enough left for him (one example was the disastrous incident in the anime were he forces a large amount of sweets down Spinel Sun’s throat causing Spinel to go on a hyper sugar rush). Cerberus also enjoys being filmed by Sakura's best friend, Tomoyo Daidōji and, unlike his Mistress, relishes the costume accessories he is asked to wear for these recordings. Even though he has been a willing servant all his life, Cerberus can be somewhat of an egomaniac, obsessing over his "coolness", and is seen bragging about himself after watching most of Tomoyo’s recordings. Personality Despite his sometimes erratic behavior, Cerberus is remarkably intelligent. He is knowledgeable not only on the Clow Cards but also on all forms of mysticism, with a knack for reading magical auras. At one point this leads him astray when Kaho Mizuki tricks him by using her strong moon-aspected aura to cover up Yue's, preventing Kero-chan from realizing Yue's false form. In addition to this, Cerberus is also not quite as carefree and without inhibitions as he seems at first glance. CLAMP describes Cerberus's "favorite thing" is described as "loud fun", and his least favorite as "being sad or lonely". Cerberus doesn't like wallowing in life's sad and depressing facts, which could possibly why he takes up so many indulgent pastimes like food and videogames to distract himself from them. This does not, however mean that little fiend is immune to these realities, as is shown in the first arc of the series when he is seen frequently musing about his fears concerning the rapidly approaching Final Judgment to the point of obsession. His lack of communication regarding the Final Judgment nearly causes Sakura to fail as she is unaware that Yue can turn the power of any Clow card under his jurisdiction back at her. Accent Because the Clow Cards had been in Osaka for a long time, Cerberus speaks in the Osaka dialect, which is famous for its plain speech and unique slang. Relationships Sakura Cerberus’s relationship with Sakura extends far beyond merely a servant and his master. Numerous times throughout the series Cerberus himself points out that he sees Sakura as a good friend before a master. Several times during the series he withholds information from Sakura in order to spare her feelings. Despite the fact that his sole duty at that point was to help the young girl collect cards and prepare for the Final Judgment, Cerberus carefully keeps the young Cardcaptor oblivious to the upcoming confrontation. Even when Cerberus himself faces intense nightmares about Yue’s oncoming judgment, he refuses to tell Sakura anything, brushing her off when she brings up the topic. Similarly, during the second arc he keeps from Sakura that Yue’s power is quickly wasting away. When she confronts his about this afterwards her guardian willingly admits that he had concealed the truth from Sakura to keep her happy. Cerberus acts as a good companion to Sakura, and often comforts her when she is in need of it, and makes sure she knows that he’s there if she needs him. Yue Cerberus’s relationship with Yue is a complicated one. In some ways, Cerberus is closer to Yue than many other characters in the series: they have known each other longest, after all, and some variations of the storyline have even introduced the two as brothers. When Sakura is being tested by a mysterious sorcerer (Eriol Hiiragizawa) Yue is the only character that Cerberus will talk to over the matter, and every time a new bit of information comes up his first action is to rush off to his fellow guardian. Additionally, it is certain that Cerberus showed more than a little paranoia during the second half of the series when Yue’s life was threatened. Despite Cerberus's mostly unconcerned response to this news when Yue first confesses it to him, twice he risks exposure to check up on Yue and his temporary form and make sure they're alright. The most obvious of these incidents is when Sakura goes over to Yukito's house to deliver a teddy bear she made for him, Cerberus, oddly enough (Yukito doesn't know about Cerberus), decides to tag along. Furthermore, when Sakura asks him about this he responds that he "thought he'd see how the was snowbunny's doin’...To see if he's healthy", and behind a confused Sakura's back mutters "If he could keep on living till now" quite a contrast to his supposed lack of concern only the night before. Cerberus also seems to throw all caution to the winds when Sakura’s brother brings Yukito to the Kinomoto’s house unconscious. Upon realizing the situation, Cerberus leaves the safety of Sakura’s bedroom, and sneaks behind Toya’s back to check on his fellow guardian himself. Other evidence suggests, however, that the relationship between the two guardians has its problems. When Clow announced his plan for the selection of the master to follow him, Cerberus insisted that it was Clow and not himself that “knew Yue’s personality best”, and expressed uncertainty rather than trust at the idea of Yue being allowed to decide the worthiness of the next candidate. Indeed, Cerberus seemed to fear Yue’s return in the first arc, being haunted with nightmares about how harshly his fellow protector of the Clow Cards might execute the Final Judgment indicating a falter in his trust of Yue. Syaoran Cerberus often argues with Syaoran Li, who calls him "plush toy" or "stuffed animal" and whom he calls "brat" (小僧, kozō), in all versions of the series, in return. This likely stems from Syaoran's initial arrogance and confidence that he will take over the Clow Cards, despite Cerberus's claims that Sakura is the actual Cardcaptor. (Additionally, in the anime, Meiling Li also takes a similar dislike for him, calling him a "bath sponge"; while Syaoran is "kid," Cerberus calls Meiling "brat" (小娘, komusume).) Even though the two of them have never gotten along, Cerberus bears no objections after some time when Syaoran joins Sakura whenever she goes out on magic-related missions. He also shows sympathy when Sakura is upset and confused over her feelings for Syaoran, and comforts his master despite the fact that he is not the best of friends with the boy in question. All of this suggests that Cerberus is at least accepting of Syaoran, even if they will never be close. True form In his miniature, borrowed form he resembles an orange plush toy with white wings. On the other hand, Cerberus's true form resembles a large winged lion, but in order for him to achieve this original form, Sakura must capture The Firey and The Earthy cards. In his true form he has jurisdiction over all things fire and earth, the elements which are "under him" and draw their power, in part from him. The known Clow Cards under his jurisdiction are Light, Firey and Earthy, but also quite probably the Glow, the Jump, the Sword, the Thunder, the Maze, and the Erase. He can also raise powerful magical barriers, use his wings as a shield, and breathe fire. Leave it to Kero-chan In the first season of the anime, Cerberus has the additional function of being a sort of viewer's guide to the fictional world in Cardcaptor Sakura in a series of short omake called "Leave It to Kero-chan!". Unlike most omake, these were aired alongside the series, always following the ending credits and before the next-episode preview. In each segment, he would discuss costumes, props, and other characters, often in ways that are ironic (such as a mention of Tomoyo's ability to obtain shots for her videos that are utterly impossible with a hand-held camera) and which break the fourth wall. At first the segment ended with a Part called Kero's Check!, but this was later dropped. The segment is known as "Kero's Corner" in Cardcaptors. The title was reused for the second movie for a comic short in which Cerberus and Spinel Sun race all over Tomoeda chasing a runaway piece of takoyaki that is at one point switched with a superball. Cerberus in Tsubasa Chronicle Cerberus appears in the anime version of Clamp's latest series, Tsubasa: RESERvoir CHRoNiCLE, in the episode "Kero-chan and Mokona" in his false form. Here, he retains most of his characteristics from Cardcaptor Sakura, but he is able to create small lightning bolts. Kero aids Mokona in retrieving the feather after the rest of the group are unable to because they mysteriously shrunk in size. In Tsubasa Chronicle, Aya Hisakawa reprises her role as Kero (the one and only character from Cardcaptor Sakura to do so). References